Designates month of September each year as "Deaf Awareness Month" in New Jersey. *

AJR139 1R

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION

No. 139

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Designates month of September each year as �Deaf
Awareness Month� in New Jersey.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Assembly Health Committee on June
18, 2026, with amendments.

��

A Joint
Resolution

designating the month of
September each year as �Deaf Awareness Month� in New Jersey
1
[
and
designating the last full week of September each year as �Deaf Awareness Week�
in New Jersey
]
1
.

Whereas,

Approximately one out of every 1,000 children in the United States is born with
profound hearing loss; and

Whereas,
There are approximately
850,000 New Jersey residents with varying degrees of hearing loss ranging from
mild to profound, including individuals who are born deaf and people who
encounter late-stage hearing loss; and

Whereas,
New Jersey is home to many
world-class institutions and programs for people who are deaf, including the
Union Street School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Hackensack, the Bruce
Street School for the Deaf in Newark, and the Marie Katzenbach School for the
Deaf in Trenton; and

Whereas,
Linda Bove, famous for her
role as �Linda the Librarian� on Sesame Street is a New Jersey native, having
been born in Garfield and educated at the Marie Katzenbach School; and

Whereas,
There are many
misconceptions about being deaf and the challenges people who are deaf face in
their everyday lives, which can only be dispelled through greater public
education and awareness; and

Whereas,
People who are deaf
communicate using sign language, which is a fully fledged natural language with
its own morphology, syntax, and structure; and

Whereas,
People who are deaf can
work in almost any job and the main barriers to employment arise from
inaccessible work environments rather than an inability to hear; and

Whereas,
Much work remains to be
done to promote the rights of people who are deaf throughout the world,
including access to education, access to information and services, and the
prevalence of sign language; and

Whereas,
Governments around the
world have designated September as �Deaf Awareness Month,� in order to
commemorate the first World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf, which
took place in September 1951; and

Whereas,
It is proper and fitting
for the State of New Jersey to celebrate the culture, heritage, and language of
people who are deaf and to increase public awareness of deaf issues by
designating the month of September as �Deaf Awareness Month�
1
[
and the last
full week of September as �Deaf Awareness Week�
]
1
in New Jersey; now,
therefore,

����
Be
It Resolved
by the Senate and General Assembly
of the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� In order to celebrate
the culture, heritage, and language of people who are deaf, and to increase
public awareness of deaf issues:

���� a.���� The month of September
each year is designated as �Deaf Awareness Month� in New Jersey.

���� b.��� The last full week of
September each year is designated as �Deaf Awareness Week� in New Jersey.

���� c.���� The Governor is
respectfully requested to annually issue a proclamation calling upon public
officials and the citizens of the State to observe �Deaf Awareness Month� and
�Deaf Awareness Week� with appropriate activities and programs.

���� 2.��� This joint resolution
shall take effect immediately.